Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial: A Visitor’s Guide
The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial celebrates the legacy of one of America’s greatest leaders… on the battlefield and in the Oval Office. It is on Washington, D.C.’s National Mall, next to the Air and Space Museum.
The Memorial tells a narrative of Eisenhower’s life with three separate sections.
The Young Man
First, as a youth. The area shows a life-sized statue of young Eisenhower sitting on a pedestal at the northwest entrance of the plaza. The sculpture is looking towards the other two sections of the monument, symbolizing the trajectory of his life as a “barefoot boy” in Abilene who dreamed about his future.
Growing up, his parents instilled in him the value of hard work, religion, and education at a young age. This principled, structured family life would be the foundation for all that would come in his storied life. Etched in stone nearby is an excerpt from his Abilene Homecoming Speech on June 22, 1945, where he declared, “the proudest thing I can claim is that I am from Abilene.”
Honoring the General
Next, the memorial commemorates Eisenhower’s time as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force during World War II. It features a giant bronze statue inspired by a photograph of the General with the 101st Airborne Division before they jumped into France on D-Day in June 1944.
Carved above the sculpture, “ The tide had turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory!”, is part of his D-Day address to his troops.
Honoring the President
Lastly, the memorial immortalizes Eisenhower’s time as the 34th President of the United States. The bronze statue shows him in the Oval Office flanked by advisors. Above the statue sits the words, “We look upon this shaken earth, and we declare our firm and fixed purpose—the building of a peace with justice in a world where moral law prevails.” This was from his second inaugural address on January 21, 1957.
These were words Eisenhower tried not only to live by but also to govern. His two terms in office were a time of rapid change in the world. His presidency began during the closing chapters of the Korean War. The Supreme Court made racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional in the 1954 Brown v Board ruling. 1956, the Federal Highway Act paved the way for today’s modern interstate system. These are a few things that happened, all under the looming dark cloud of the Cold War with the Soviet Union.
Behind the memorial is a tapestry more than 400 feet long and 60 feet high, depicting the Normandy coastline. There is also a small gift shop where you can pick up a souvenir. We got an “I Like Ike” magnet.
Washington, D.C., has many monuments; the Eisenhower Memorial ranks among our favorites.
The monument is a short visit and is the perfect place to rest for a few moments while touring the National Mall. As with most of the monuments, I recommend visiting at night. It’s far less crowded and is stunningly beautiful.
